Cha Cha In The Middle (still)

There was a nurse at Rush-Copley Hospital (Cha Cha called her "the loud lady") that kept bugging Cha Cha to "get up and walk, get up and walk." Then, the next day, she'd come in and say "you've got to get up and walk." Cha Cha was in tremendous pain but she and I would stroll around the unit like an old couple to A) shut the battleaxe up and B) we figured the nag knew what she was talkinng about. Cha Cha would be leaning on me in pain as we'd wheel the IV tree (not sure if that is the technical term) around with us. As it turns-out, as we know now, she was bleeding internally and walking was probably causing even more damage; maybe one of the worst things she could have been doing. Okay, there are probably several  worse things she could have been doing like: surfing, rock climbing, running a marathon, playing tackle football...but you get the point. The first time we walked and we passed the nurse control tower or whatever that little coven is called Cha Cha told the nurses there, "tell that loud nurse that I am walking." We could see that they knew exactly who she was referring to. I think Cha Cha has a bounty on her head and a lazy bounty hunter has hired Rush-Copley to kill her. First they stab her in the liver during an out-patient procedure and then, when they get her back as an admitted patient a week or so later (coincidence?), they try to make her walk with the blood pouring from the internal wound that they caused. These people are more clever than any bond villain in history but we are onto them

There was film that I had seen a commercial for that looked really good called Heaven Is For Real. In addition to looking good it has Greg Kinnear and Thomas Haden Church in it - I like them both a great deal. While Cha Cha was in the hospital I saw that it was going to be on either Starz or Encore (but I would bet it was on Starz since Encore, as you may guess by the name of the network, shows movies most of us have seen - like comfort TV). By the time the movie came on I was gone to my night job (taking care of Fabio, Jeff and the house). Cha Cha watched it but she missed a lot because, even though you are supposed to get rest in the hospital they knock on your door and check your vitals and take blood... what seems like every ten minutes You get lots more sleep at home. There is no pause on the televisions in the hospitals so you miss all the plot points; DVR's that could be paused is something that would come in handy in hospital rooms. So, anyway, I went to Redbox and rented it and the film is great. I am not a religious person but I think I can buy this. It is based on a true story. I always take that with a grain of salt (not a pillar) because we all know they embellish everything and we are never really certain what is embellishment and what is based on the real details.

Last night I went to bed at 1830; I was beat. Fabio went to work yesterday and came home sick after a couple of hours. I cannot believe he even went in as sick as he was. He works at a local grocery store and I wouldn't imagine that they wanted him there around their customers. I think all of the stress of his mom being sick really got to him; he had been fighting it for a week or two. As far as me, I hadn't been sleeping much for over two weeks and when I did it wasn't good sleep. Sometimes in a chair, sometimes on a hospital couch and sometimes fighting it back and forth to and from Chicago. I am off work anyway, using my sick hours (family sick / FMLA). Cha Cha has to call many doctors and medical departments today and plan our week's fun activities. I know we will have at least four different appointments and one procedure for sure and perhaps more. Maybe somebody else will stab one of her vital organs and we will have a re-run of the last 16 days or so. We are supposed to visit an open house tomorrow night for Fabio for a school/college for next year in Chicago. It would be nice if we could have one of her appointments at Northwestern for the same day as long as we are going to be in the city with the big shoulders anyway.

The alarm went off at the Matt In The Middle Crisis Management Center at about 2200. I slid down the pole and Cha Cha and I took Fabio to the Emergency Room at Kishwaukee Community Hospital. His throat was inflamed and bright red. They took a throat culture - initially it does not appear that it is strep throat. I called the school at 0100 and left a message on the machine that he would not be in on Monday (today). That way, if we were all able to sleep, we would not have to endure any alarms in the morning. Most of my crisis management involves preventative thinking. That is the awesome thing about being a worrier as I am - I always plan for the worst-case scenario and 98.6% of the time I am wrong - which is awesome! It is now 0900 and both patients are resting comfortably. Fabio is still very warm.

I just got done cleaning the kitchen. We finally ate most of the food that the neighbors had prepared for Fabio. Their pans, dishes, lids... are all in the dishwasher and they will be returned to them today or tomorrow. Lisa (of Lisa, Brian and Regina fame) brought us some more food yesterday. I invited her in and she declined - I cannot blame her since we seem to have our own leper colony up in this hizzy. I am thinking that today may just be a recuperation / lock-down day. It is raining pretty good out right now and that is a good day to try to sleep. I have a pretty severe headache but it is mainly in my Occipital Lobe or maybe in the lower portion of my Parietal Lobe which I diagnose as some kind of sinus pressure and it actually may be in the sinus ducts. I will probably get out the vaporizer. I am afraid I know what is going to happen. Counting today, I have seven days left before I will go back to work. Around day five this will turn-into a full-blown illness and I will be working sick. I am going over and get some Airborne and Zicam or something. As long as I am whining I think I have a cavity which may also be the reason for the headache.

Cha Cha will be making plenty of phone calls to plan our week of doctor visits. Maybe, with all of the doctor stuff we have been doing I can convince somebody to give me a little sumpen-sumpen for my maladies. As fate would have it her cell phone began ringing just as I typed that and, as a good P.A.B. (personal assistant and bodyguard) would do while his/her charge is resting, I answered the phone. It was one of her team of medical professionals (her gastroenterologist). I said she was resting and that I would not wake her and took the information for her to call them back. It is going to be a busy week and now it just began snowing like crazy - that makes sense.

That is way too much for today. I should change the name of the blog to Cha Cha In The Middle. Her life if far more interesting than mine right now. I guess they are one and the same though. Thanks a lot for continuing to stop by here and for your love and support of Cha Cha. I am tempted to blog again later today but I probably will not; if I do I will advise in the usual ways. TTT?...CCITM (out) TA! damn, I forgot to tell you the rose story again - I will begin writing tomorrow's blog now so I do not forget.